The Buck Stops Here

On Valentine's Day, pledge your heart. On this edition of The Buck Stops Here, we talk about organ donation. Five lakh people in India die every year because of the non-availability of organs. The rate of organ donation in India is just 0.5 donors per 10 lakh people as per 2013 data. Everyone can save up to seven lives by donating organs. At any given time, there are eight to 10 brain-dead potential donors in intensive care units of any major city. On the show, we look at how laws in the country have changed and how, with this, there is a real chance at change.

On 'The Buck Stops Here', a special interview with a man once regarded as one of the most promising Indian batsman, Sanjay Manjrekar. Manjrekar's book 'Imperfect' is an incredibly candid confession of the highs and lows in his life, of living with Vijay Manjrekar his father and a legendary Indian cricketer but also a violent and abusive man, of going through the ropes of Indian cricket, of seeing, as a Mumbai batsman, the advent of Sachin Tendulkar and now of his life as one of India's leading cricket commentators.

RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat sparked a controversy after he reportedly said that the RSS can be raised an army from within its ranks within three days. Critics have asked if that means some sort of an extra-constitutional militia force? Where does that leave our army? And despite a clarification that has now come, are comments like this at all necessary?

As soldiers fought to flush out terrorists from the Sunjuwan military camp in Jammu on Saturday, their colleagues at a military hospital, just 10 km away, worked through the night to save a pregnant woman who had been brought in with gunshot wounds. Meet the doctors who saved not one but two lives in this heart-warming story.

Nearly three months after she said that price details of the purchase of 36 Rafale fighter aircraft from France will be shared with reporters, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has now stated in Parliament that confidentiality clauses within the deal prevent the disclosure of these details - which means that there can never be full public scrutiny of the Rs 58,000 crore deal which the Congress says resulted in an insurmountable loss of taxpayers money. On The Buck Stops Here, we ask: does 'confidentiality' mean no transparency?

Four Indians soldiers died in Pakistani shelling on the Line of Control on Sunday. The Indian Army has said our action will speak for itself. But where will this end? The number of ceasefire violations that have taken place are colossal - 240 ceasefire violations in just one month and five days of this year. Where is this all headed? Are we headed for a war? Is there no other option? How many more soldiers will we lose as tensions along the Line of Control continue? We debate on The Buck Stops Here.

On Saturday, two protesters were shot dead by the Army in Shopian in Kashmir after about 10 jawans were surrounded and stoned. One jawan has brain injuries; he was unconscious and had to be air evacuated. Left with no option, the Army jawans opened fire. Or were there options? On The Buck Stops Here, as alliance partners the BJP and the PDP slug it out, we ask: what options do a small group of soldiers facing a life and death situation really have?

On The Buck Stops Here, meet the founder and chief technology officer of Team Indus. India's first space startup had aimed to put an Indian built rover on the surface of the moon in competing for the international Google Lunar XPrize. But in the end, the deadlines proved to be just too difficult and Team Indus had to tell Google Lunar XPrize that they wouldn't make the deadline. To many, this had a lot to do with raising funds. Was Team Indus just too ambitious? Realistically, could a startup hope to achieve so much?

Protesting against the film Padmaavat, a mob today attacked a school bus in Gurgaon. Terrified children and teachers cowered and hid on the floor of the bus. Another bus just ahead of them was burnt down. Is this Rajput identity? Is this acceptable in our democracy? There was violence in many states, instances of arson, buses being burnt, highways being blocked. Is this our India?

Leading Indian scientists have got together to oppose the statement of junior education minister Satyapal Singh that Charles Darwin's theory of evolution did not have scientific basis. There is outrage among the scientific community at Mr Singh's statements. He had said, "Darwin's theory (of evolution) is scientifically wrong. It needs to change in school and college curriculum. Since the man is seen on Earth he has always been a man." Leading Indian scientists say that it is retrograde to remove the teaching of the theory of evolution. On The Buck Stops Here, we ask: is questioning Darwin's theory healthy or dangerous?

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has decided to install close-circuit television (CCTV) cameras in all state government school classrooms, a move that has apparently been triggered by some recent incidents of violence against children in school premises in and around Delhi. Today, in Lucknow, the principal of a school was arrested after a class 1 student was attacked allegedly by a class 6 student. On The Buck Stops Here, we ask: how can we make our schools safer? Are CCTVs the answer? Does this measure ensure student safety or is it a gross violation of privacy?

14 people were killed in a restaurant in Mumbai's Kamala Mills last month. On The Buck Stops Here, a special investigation. Are some of Delhi's leading restaurants in Connaught Place - in the heart of the national capital - fire traps? Is a disaster waiting to happen?

The government's decision to offer orange-coloured passports for economically weaker and less educated citizens has resulted in a lot of protests. There are also concerns on the decision to remove the last page of the passport. The last page contains proof of address, names of spouse, parents and other details. But it's the new orange-coloured passports that some say is blatantly unjustified and discriminatory. The government, though, feels the move was necessary to protect some of India's most vulnerable citizens when they travel abroad. On The Buck Stops Here, we debate: is the new orange-coloured passport discriminatory? Is this part of some sort of new apartheid as some political leaders have alleged?

On The Buck Stops Here, the hunt for Pakistan Border Action Teams and infiltrators. We spend a tense night just short of Line of Control itself - in a small post in Tangdhar, Kashmir along one of the biggest infiltration routes.

Come March 5, 11.86 lakh students across the country will be appearing for CBSE Class 12 board examinations. A day after the CBSE released the date sheet of the exams, there is consternation among many students, parents and teachers over the inconvenient scheduling of papers. They say reduced gaps in between papers will put far greater stress on students and the timetable makes little sense. The Central Board of Secondary Education says it's unrealistic to expect gaps between all 200 papers that are offered by the board. But students say they must have more revision time and the Board must consider revising its schedule. On The Buck Stops Here, we look at the concerns of the students

The Supreme Court today ordered 186 cases in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots be re-investigated by a new Special Investigation Team. Does the Supreme Court order rekindle hopes of justice for the 1984 Sikh massacre? 2,733 people lost their lives in Delhi alone in the 1984 riots, which followed the assassination of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. There have already been at least 12 inquiry commissions and panels in the 34 years since the riots. Can a fresh investigation achieve anything after 34 long years? Or has politics suppressed justice? We debate on The Buck Stops Here.

In the run up to Assembly elections in Karnataka, a war of words has broken out between UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. The theme is familiar, but the twist is new. Yogi Adityanath started by telling Mr Siddaramaiah - if you're a true Hindu, then why don't you ban cow slaughter in the state. Mr Siddaramaiah roared back - don't teach me Hindutva, true Hinduism means people can eat what they want. Meanwhile, across the border in BJP-ruled Goa, a very different story. Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar has just defended the legal beef trade in a state where beef is part of the diet of many. This comes even as problems are reported with the supply of beef from Karnataka to Goa, apparently because of vigilante groups. On the Buck Stops Here, we look at the strange dynamics of beef politics. Will it be a decisive factor in the Karnataka elections?

On The Buck Stops Here, from Rajasthan desert, a first hand look at the Arjun Main Battle Tank. This is a Made in India tank that has come a long way. It's been decades in development but what the Army has now is what many consider a world-beater.

On The Buck Stops Here, a very special guest - the mother of a special needs child on how she will have to withdraw him from school after the government capped the education grant for families of soldiers killed in action.

The massive bandh by Dalit groups in Maharashtra has been called off but not before a number of cities including Mumbai saw protests, road and rail traffic disruption, and sporadic violence. On The Buck Stops Here, we ask: has the Dalit protest achieved anything?

After US President Donald Trump read Pakistan the riot act, we ask whether this is effectively the end of the military alliance between Pakistan and the United States. An angry US President in his first tweet of the new year, said, "The United States has foolishly given Pakistan more than $ 33 billion in aid over the last 15 years, and they have given us nothing but lies & deceit, thinking of our leaders as fools. They give safe haven to the terrorists we hunt in Afghanistan, with little help. No more!" Now Pakistan says that they will respond in detail. Everyone is still waiting for this detailed response. For India, this is perhaps unexpected good news but given the close ties between China and Pakistan, the big question arises - does Pakistan still need the US in the way that it once did?

If there's one thing that the fire in a rooftop pub in Mumbai's Kamala Mills has proved, it's that fire safety is just not a priority for a majority of restaurants in India. The Mumbai fire has also trained the spotlight on some of Delhi's trendiest night spots. One of them, the trendy Hauz Khas Village, was recently described by the Delhi High Court as nothing short of a "ticking time bomb". On The Buck Stops Here, we debate: across our metros, are civic authorities, police and fire departments turning a blind eye to blatant fire safety violations? Are your favourite pubs or restaurants a potential death trap?

The BJP-run South Delhi Municipal Corporation has passed a proposal that says the display of non-vegetarian food items in public by restaurant owners should be prohibited. This is after complaints from vegetarian people who say they feel nauseous when they smell non-vegetarian food. Apparently, it offends them as well. The SDMC also stated hygiene concerns. On The Buck Stops Here, we ask: what's the real story behind this decision to not allow non-veg food to be cooked or showed outside restaurants? Is this vegetarian vigilantism? Is this a municipal corporation essentially curbing our lifestyle?

The widows of some of India's bravest sons join us on Veer Nari, a tribute to the widows, children, families and friends of our officers and jawans who willingly place themselves in the line of fire. This is the price of our freedom. A special episode of The Buck Stops Here.

After outrage across Kerala, the management of a leading Thiruvanthapuram school decides to re-look at a case where they had suspended a 16-year-old because he had hugged a girl he was close to in school. The school wants a meeting with the boy. They had also said that personal pictures of him with this girl student on his private Instagram account were unacceptable because they had been shared across the school. On The Buck Stops Here, we speak to the school principal and the suspended teenager. Will he finally get the chance to take the board examination because that is what was being denied to him because of this bizarre suspension?

On The Buck Stops Here, we ask: should two teenagers who were hugging in their school in Kerala be suspended? Should the boy be denied the opportunity to take his board exams? Is it fair that pictures of these teenagers posted on a private Instagram page become an additional reason to victimise them, to allegedly slut shame the girl and treat the boy as if he was a rapist? Are schools the ultimate arbiter of the moral values our children should have? Don't social mores change?

The 1971 war was the Indian armed forces' finest hour. Ahead of the anniversary of the great victory, meet four of our finest war veterans - heroes from another generation who relive their experiences, their legacy of brotherhood, bravery and sacrifice in the great battles they fought to liberate East Pakistan.

Two leading private hospitals - Max in Delhi's Shalimar Bagh and Fortis in Gurgaon are in deep trouble after two medical cases they were handling went dreadfully wrong. On The Buck Stops Here, we ask: yes, doctors are accountable and so is the management but should entire hospitals potentially be shut down because of individual cases? What happens to thousands of patients who depend on these hospitals?

After the government capped the education grant for the children of of soldiers killed in action, those missing or disabled, the veterans are outraged. Why dishonour us, they ask. As the government looks at reviewing its order, on The Buck Stops Here we ask - how could such oversights happen in the first place.

International cricketers have fallen sick breathing toxic air. Now, a new UNICEF report says that air pollution could impact children's developing brains. On The Buck Stops Here, we look at the horrific pollution across the National Capital Region and north India. An audience joins our panel of experts as we ask - what is the government doing to make a genuine difference.

Sri Lanka's cricketers say they can't breathe properly while playing in Delhi. Online, a debate on pollution transforms into a jingoistic debate on 'strong Indians' versus 'weak Sri Lankans'. On The Buck Stops Here, we ask: do we really need to look at the issue of pollution through the prism of national pride? Are we in denial about the poison we breathe in Delhi?

Depression, anxiety and addiction are the very real dangers of smartphone overuse for an entire generation of young Indians. On The Buck Stops Here, we ask: are parents and schools doing enough to protect our kids from smartphones and social media?

On The Buck Stops Here, an NDTV investigation. Just who is responsible for pothole-related deaths in Bengaluru? Is it the government which is busy filling potholes? Or is it the contractrors responsible for delivering substandard potholes in the first place? That depends on who you ask. While our focus is Bengaluru on the show, here's another reality check. According to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways - in is annual report 'Road Accidents in India,' an astonishing number of people died in road crashes as a result of potholes between 2013 and 2016. 11,386 people were killed across our country and 36,421 were injured.

A new report from the Centre for Science and Environment shows that lifestyle diseases or non-communicable diseases are responsible for more than 61 per cent of all deaths in India. Whether it is heart diseases, respiratory illnesses, cancer, obesity or food allergies, new research reveals that the rise in their incidences is due to factors such as rapid urbanisation, air pollution and changes in diet rather than in our genes. The new report called Body Burden: Lifestyle Diseases is essentially a report card on the state of health in India.

On The Buck Stops Here, meet some of the Gurgaon residents who have decided that the only way they would make a difference in cleaning up the air around them is by quitting their cars for a week, getting on to bicycles or walking to work. They tell us about the big takeaways of their week-long experience.

On The Buck Stops Here, we discuss the horrific incident of sexual assault on a 4-year-old girl in Delhi allegedly by a boy in her class inside the school premises. The mother of the girl, in a letter to NDTV, has said her child was sexually assaulted twice by the 5-year-old boy. The school says the incident seems "impossible". On the show, we debate: how safe are our schools?

Afroz Shah, a young lawyer and environmentalist, became a hero for taking it upon himself to clean up Versova beach in Mumbai with the help of hundreds of volunteers. But now he has had enough. His volunteers were abused by goons while trying to clean up the beach. On The Buck Stops Here, we ask: doesn't anyone want to do something to help these hundreds of volunteers? Or does the 'chalta hai' attitude mean that it's all over for Versova beach once again?

Unable to reach her hometown Patna in time for her brother's funeral because a VVIP flight with the President meant a delay of two hours, a passenger, Dr Nirala Singh, vented her frustration at union minister KJ Alphons who happened to be at the airport. On The Buck Stops Here, we ask: why should India's VIP culture come at the cost of citizens?

On The Buck Stops Here, we look at whether India can embrace electric vehicles as a practical solution to our air pollution woes. Actor Gul Panag, a huge advocate of electric cars, speaks to us on whether it is practical, safe and cheap.

In just five years, urban India will undergo a "miraculous" transformation following a transition to clean fuels and electric vehicles, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari has said. In an interview to NDTV, Mr Gadkari, the Road Transport minister, was clear: "Our country will convert into bio fuel, electric, ethanol, methanol, bio-diesel and bio-CNG and import will be less and it will be a cost effective, import substitute, pollution-free, indigenous, Made in India, Make in India, dream of Prime Minister -- 100 per cent going to fulfill."

With the pollution crisis in Delhi becoming an annual feature, the government has now announced a drastic plan to help clean up the air in the National Capital Region. Bharat Stage-VI fuel, equivalent to Euro-6 standards, will now be introduced in Delhi by 2018 and NCR by 2019. Will this really help in the clean up of the national capital? Are our oil companies ready to spend tens of thousands of crores to upgrade their fuel facilities? We debate on The Buck Stops Here.

Has the public exchequer faced an "insurmountable loss" in signing a deal to procure 36 Rafale aircraft from France for 58,000 crore? This is the allegation made by the Congress party which the government has rubbished. The war of words between the government and the Congress continued today with the Air Chief, someone who doesn't frequently speak to the media, saying there was no controversy and the deal was the best one India could get.

A new survey published by the journal The Lancet reinforces what many had believed for a long time -- that air pollution is already having a serious impact for generations of Indians. The polluted air that millions breathe today is affecting their lifespan and quality of life. The Lancet report says pollution is India's second-biggest health hazard. In another study, and it's important to stress that the reports are not linked, an experienced doctor tells us that there is evidence that Indian children show lower lung growth than Caucasian children. It's all the same in terms of the size of the lung till the age of about 8, after which there is a change. By the time Indian children are adults, the lung size in both Indian men and women is about 10 per cent smaller. On The Buck Stops Here, we look at these two studies and ask our leaders whether they would act now.

On this special episode of The Buck Stops Here, we visit All India Institute of Medical Sciences and Fortis Escorts Hospital in Delhi to understand how bad the pollution situation is, how it is affecting people's health and what are the long-term effects of breathing toxic air.

As north India goes through another day of 'severe' air pollution, we take a step back and look at this environmental disaster not just from the prism of the political slanging match but also from a saner perspective. What can we do to deal with this apocalyptic situation now beyond knee-jerk solutions like a half-hearted odd-even scheme?

The dates for the winter session of Parliament, which usually begins around the third week of November, ought to have been notified by now as at least 15 days notice has to be given to allow Parliamentarians to congregate in Delhi. The silence from the government so far seems to bear out what NDTV had reported almost a week ago - about how a hectic Gujarat campaign may lead to a cancelled or curtailed Parliament session. Has Gujarat's poll heat put Parliament's winter session in deep freeze? An angry Congress isn't pulling its punches saying the government is scared of being hauled over the coals on demonetisation and GST in Parliament. On The Buck Stops Here, we debate: should the work of Parliament be held to ransom to a state election?

When Pradyuman Thakur - a Class 2 child - was killed in September in his school toilet in a Gurgaon school, it sparked a national debate on safety in schools. But just two months later, the CBI today made the extraordinary claim that he was killed by a senior student of the same school. But perhaps the most shocking revelation by the CBI is that the the Class XI student did it to delay examinations and a parent-teacher meeting. There have been many instances of stress-induced suicides by school students, but was this is a stress-induced homicide? Is the Pradyuman case a flashpoint for our investigation agencies as well as our schools? We debate on The Buck Stops Here.

Did Congress President Sonia Gandhi step in to shield Tehelka and its financier after its 2001 sting on corruption in defence deals? Jaya Jaitly, in her autobiography, has made public a letter that Sonia Gandhi wrote to then Finance Minister P Chidambaram asking him to ensure that Tehelka's financiers were not treated in an 'unfair and unjust' manner. The book also cites a letter that Tehelka's alleged financier Shankar Sharma of First Global, wrote to Sonia Gandhi asking for help in the face of 'continued harassment by government agencies'. The Justice Phukan Commission inquiring into Tehelka's dealings was scrapped just days later. Jaya Jaitly also claims that the Congress benefited from the Tehelka sting that exposed corruption during former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's tenure. Ms Jaitly was forced to quit as Samata Party President in 2001 after Tehelka's 'Operation West End' sting, George Fernandes then Defence Minister resigned at the time as well.

The Rajasthan High Court has raised questions about a 22-year-old woman's conversion to Islam and her interfaith marriage before sending her to a government home for a week. It is a virtual re-run of the Hadiya case in Kerala that sparked a nationwide controversy. What's more the high court has put the state government on notice, asking why there is no law or procedure in Rajasthan that governs religious conversions, observing that people can't change their religions based on an affidavit. Do courts even have a role to play in such cases? Why should an adult woman not have the freedom to choose who she marries, or whether or not to convert? We debate on The Buck Stops Here.

If you have been in or out of Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport in the last few days, then you'll know it is nothing short of a nightmare. Serpentine queues at immigration counters, angry crowds and total chaos. Two ministries in charge for the safety, security and upkeep of the airport are blaming each other for the chaos - the Ministry of Home Affairs and Civil Aviation Ministry. So is the chaos at the airport entirely a government-made one? One thing that may actually have added to the chaos is doing away with separate counters for business and first-class travelers. On The Buck Stops Here, we debate: if this is the first and last impression tourists get of the country, then can India still claim atithi devo bhava?

Did the deadly PM2.5 pollutant kill half a million or 5 lakh Indians in 2015? That's the alarming finding of a major new report by the Lancet Countdown. The report estimates that the ultra-fine PM2.5 pollutant was responsible for 1.9 million deaths in Asia and one out of every four of those deaths was right here in India. The report also says that indoor air pollution was the single largest cause of deaths killing over one lakh people in India that year. On The Buck Stops Here, we debate: is India losing the battle against pollution? Will the government take on board the findings of this latest report or dismiss it as another academic exercise as it has done with other alarming reports in the past? Will it share its own data to allay the concerns that this report generates?

It's been India's protest square for close to three decades. Jantar Mantar in the national capital has been witness to the Nirbhaya protests, Anna Hazare's Lokpal agitation, even the recent #NotInMyName campaign. But it finally fell silent today as police and civic officials evicted military veterans protesting OROP implementation and uprooted their tents and temporary structures. Should veterans have been treated like this? And it's not just them. For many protesters from around the country, Jantar Mantar with its proximity to Parliament was the one way of making sure their voice was heard. They say no other protest site will have the same resonance. But must their democratic right to protest come at the cost of resident's peace of mind? We ask on The Buck Stops Here.

A crowdsourced 'cautionary list' of sexual harassers in academia has sparked a polarising debate among Indian feminists. Raya Sarkar, who claims to be a 24-year old law student at an American university says she was inspired by the #MeToo campaign to create a list to warn students about professors by using first-hand accounts from survivors. She argues that given how college administrations function - these alleged harassers will continue to hold their positions of power, even if survivors use existing processes and mechanisms to complain. A group of Indian feminists, who responded to the list, said they were dismayed that this naming and shaming was without context and explanation. They are now facing a huge backlash themselves. On The Buck Stops Here, we ask: does silence equal complicity and by that logic are we all guilty?

On The Buck Stops Here, author Jeet Thayil on the intriguing title of his new book - The Book of Chocolate Saints, the Bombay poets, censorship and more

The RBI has clarified it is now mandatory to link Aadhaar and bank accounts. Every day citizens around the country are being deluged with warning messages from banks and mobile operators about the consequences of not linking Aadhaar to their accounts. On the Buck Stops Here, we ask: are these threats and warnings even legal? Just today, reports from Maharashtra indicate Aadhaar data collection is anything but fool-proof as the government's online loan-waiver scheme ran into trouble as 100 farmers were found to have the same Aadhaar number. In the Supreme Court today, government's top lawyer, the Attorney General said the deadline to link Aadhaar to get benefits of government social schemes would be extended to March-end for those who don't have an Aadhaar card yet but are willing to enroll. But activists and petitioners continue to insist Aadhaar is a violation of privacy and raises serious questions about data security. We debate: why is the government continuing with its big Aadhaar push? Should it not wait for the Supreme Court's verdict?

Should a Parsi woman be deprived of her religious identity and community rights if she marries outside her own religion? The Supreme Court has referred the matter to a 5-judge constitution bench and said the recent verdict on instant triple talaq may have a bearing on this case too as it boils down to a fundamental question about women's equality. On The Buck Stops Here, meet the woman who has knocked on the Supreme Court's door seeking freedom to enter Parsi religious places. Goolrookh Gupta was ostracised by her community after a Gujarat High Court ruling in 2012 that said she had ceased to be a Parsi when she married a Hindu man. It's not just Goolrookh alone, many Parsi women don't have the option of raising their children in the same religion once they've married outside the faith. The men, however, can do so with impunity and without facing the same problems. As Parsi women in inter-faith marriages fight for equality in the eyes of religion and society, we ask a larger question - isn't this about the right to equality? Why the discrimination? Why the separate rules for men and women?

There's a firestorm over the Rajasthan government's Criminal Laws Amendment Ordinance which was tabled today. Critics are calling it a gag law that will censor the press and shield corrupt public servants since it bans the media from disclosing the identity of a judge or any public servant facing allegations and makes it mandatory for government sanction to probe all public servants. The executive order has been attacked by two of the BJP's own lawmakers in Rajasthan. But speaking to NDTV today, the Central Vigilance Commissioner made a case for protecting public servants from fake cases. On The Buck Stops Here, we debate whether the Rajasthan government's ordinance is unconstitutional. What would be the ramifications if this law were to be extended nationally? And what will be the political fallout of this for the BJP?

After four years in jail, Rajesh and Nupur Talwar walked free today. They were acquitted by the Allahabad High Court last week in the murder case of their daughter Aarushi and domestic help Hemraj. On The Buck Stops Here, we ask: Is it enough that the Talwars be acquitted? Shouldn't there be consequences for the CBI? The High Court's verdict says the CBI tampered with evidence and tutored a witness. Isn't it high time that accountability is fixed and action follows against those officials? Shouldn't the CBI face prosecution or be punished for deliberate distortions in the Aarushi case?

Rajesh and Nupur Talwar, the parents of Aarushi Talwar, have been acquitted and will walk out of jail in a day or two. It was a brutal double murder case. Aarushi was found murdered and so too was the domestic help, 45-year-old Hemraj. The Talwars were accused of murder and sentenced to life in jail. Today, the Allahabad High Court said the CBI has failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the Talwar couple killed Aarushi and Hemraj. In cases where you depend on circumstantial evidence, the court said, the benefit of the doubt goes to the accused. And so the Talwars will be out of jail because the evidence presented against them doesn't stack up. But the big question remains - who killed Aarushi and who killed Hemraj? There is justice for Rajesh and Nupur Talwar today but is there any justice for Aarushi and Hemraj?

A railway inquiry report has blamed rain and rumour for causing the stampede that resulted in the death of 23 people on a foot over bridge at the Elphinstone suburban train station in Mumbai on September 29. The recommendations of the report, and frankly its contents, are a joke, an insult to the memory of people who lost their lives in the horrific situation that emerged. On The Buck Stops Here, we debate: Is this true accountability? Who is responsible? And what about the lakhs of people who continue to use the Mumbai trains - a lifeline in India's commercial capital?

There have been protests in Delhi after a hike in Metro fares came into effect today. The Metro is Delhi's lifeline, transporting lakhs of people everyday. The ruling Aam Aadmi Party has said the hike in fares is too steep and has accused the Centre of trying to convert the Metro into an elite mode of transportation. The Centre has denied that allegation and asked why didn't the Aam Aadmi Party object to the proposed fare hike earlier when the Delhi Metro Rail Board met and in which there were five Delhi government representatives. On The Buck Stops Here, we debate: Is Delhi Metro fare hike fair?

It's going to be a Diwali minus firecrackers this year for Delhi and its nearby areas. The Supreme Court today banned the sale of crackers till the 31st of October saying it wants to assess the impact on the air quality. Those who had already bought firecrackers can still light them. In November last year, the court had stopped the sale of fireworks for Delhi following a petition flagging the alarming rise in pollution levels after Diwali. On The Buck Stops Here, we debate: can a ban on crackers alone clean our air? And why is clean air not a political priority?

Radhe Maa, the controversial self-styled godwoman, is back in the news and for all the wrong reasons. An SHO at a police station in Delhi offered his seat to her. Then a video emerged of policemen singing and dancing with Radhe Maa. On The Buck Stops Here, we debate: When will people give up their obsession with godmen or godwomen?

On The Buck Stops Here we look at how security forces eliminated a major terror strike on a BSF Battalion Headquarters in Srinagar. Inspector General of the CRPF, one of Kashmir's top cops, joins us as he shares astounding details on how one of the terrorists, wearing a CRPF uniform, pretended to be a jawan before being eliminated in the nick of time.

It has happened again. A passenger on an IndiGo flight, Aditya Narayan, son of Bollywood playback singer Udit Narayan, abused a woman staff member of IndiGo at the check-in counter and then abused the Duty Manager. It has been caught on cellphone video with Aditya Narayan clearly threatening the Duty Manager. In the end, IndiGo allowed him to fly between Raipur and Mumbai yesterday after he apparently apologised. On The Buck Stops Here, we look at the Indian air traveller. What gives anyone the right to be uncouth, rude, abusive and threatening to anyone on any airline? And are the government's new rules specific to its no-fly list strong enough?

Should the Army be used to clean trash left behind by tourists and others? It depends on whom you ask. According to the government, this is a key part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan which includes all citizens and therefore includes the Army as well. On the other side, senior veterans of the Army feel this is part of an effort to downgrade the importance of the armed forces and make them do something that they neither trained for nor signed up to do. Either way, an order has come. Some of the places where this is happening are Kedarnath, Rudraprayag, Joshimath, Harsil and Gaurikund in Uttarakhand. Is it fair to ask the Army to clean up garbage left behind by tourists in high-altitude areas?

Special forces from the Indian Army struck Naga insurgents along the Nagaland-Myanmar border and it is almost certain that a part of the operation took place on the other side of the border. The operation itself was not a massive operation like the surgical strikes against Pakistan, nor were they in the scale of the operations that the Army carried out against NSCN-K terrorists two years back in Myanmar. But the question is: are cross-border raids the new normal and if so what message is the government trying to send when information of these operations gets out? We debate on The Buck Stops Here.

The Delhi High Court verdict acquitting Mahmood Farooqui, who has been jailed for raping an American scholar, has triggered a debate on sexual consent. The judgement, more than 80 pages in length, has dealt extensively with the issue of consent in a sexual relationship and has reached the conclusion that 'instances of women's behavior are not unknown, that a feeble 'no' may mean a 'yes' which begs the question, in the case of sex being forced upon a person, what exactly does an individual need to do - shout 'no' at the top of their voice? That is often just not possible, particularly, if a woman is threatened, physically restricted and unable to resist; not because she doesn't want to resist, but simply because she cannot. On The Buck Stops Here, we debate: Does this judgement reverse the path of justice that had been established after India invoked some of the most stringent anti-rape legislation in the world?

Students at Banaras Hindu University in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's constituency have been seething anger after the horrific police attack on protesting students on Saturday. Students carried out protests after a woman was allegedly molested on campus by a group of men. The protest also questioned gender discrimination on campus by a system that neither allows women to participate in political protests nor allows them the same rights as men students. Today police filed 1,000 FIRs against BHU students for arson and other charges. On The Buck Stops Here the Vice Chancellor of Banaras Hindu University joins us along with students and political leaders as we debate the BHU violence - was it about gender justice? And, if it ended up becoming more about political opportunism?

The Calcutta High Court today revoked the Mamata Banerjee government's order banning the immersion of Durga idols after 10 pm on September 30 and on October 1, which happens to be Muharram. The Trinamool government said they were doing this to prevent any potential violence between communities. But the High Court told the government = are you not creating a line of division between the two communities by your action? An angry Mamata Banerjee reacted, saying, "someone can slit my throat but no one can tell me what to do". On The Buck Stops Here - is this really a law and order issue or a move that's created a line of division between communities in West Bengal?

When Lieutenant General DS Hooda, then Northern Army Commander, saw the live video feed of India's surgical strike across the Line of Control, he knew he wasn't necessarily getting the full picture. "I won't say what footage it was but we were watching the operation," said the Lt General who approved the plans for Special Forces to retaliate less than two weeks after the Uri terror attack in September last year, when 19 Indian soldiers were killed by Pakistani terrorists.

When do we in India get real about moving away from petrol and diesel-powered vehicles to electric-powered ones? The government had announced that 2030 was the target. But since then, Minister Nitin Gadkari seems to have softened his position somewhat, stating that it was not the intention of the government to bankrupt any car company. So where does that leave us? On The Buck Stops Here, some of the biggest names in the auto industry, Bollywood star Gul Panag who drives an electric car herself, and environment experts discuss the dream to go green and whether it is the auto industry that is essentially the stumbling block.

On this special episode of The Buck Stops Here, a look back at the life of a real Indian hero, a perfect gentleman and a gutsy warfighter. Marshal of the Indian Air Force Arjan Singh was given a state funeral today in a solemn ceremony at the Brar Square in Delhi Cantonment. The Marshal of the IAF Arjan Singh died on Saturday at the age of 98.

The grand bullet train project, meant to connect Ahmedabad and Mumbai in a little over two hours, is a Rs 1,10,000 crore project, the large bulk of which will come from Japan through a soft loan repayable over a period of 50 years. But is this massive project ever going to be financially viable unless the government chooses to subsidise it? And should a bullet train have been the priority before getting our rail system fixed?

The Supreme Court says that in some cases the six month 'cooling off' period for those seeking a divorce through mutual consent can be waived. For many couples who simply want out of a marriage, this comes as a big relief. The key point to stress, however, is that these are mutual consent cases, not cases where separation has been challenged and there are disputes. We take a look at the new ruling through the changing reality of urban India: are marriages no longer as sacrosanct as they once were?

Six days after the brutal murder of seven-year-old Pradyuman in the Ryan international school in Gurugram, the country's Education Minister and Women and Child Development Minister will meet to discuss how safety measures in schools across India can be improved. On The Buck Stops Here, we look at some of the gadgets and apps that can help parents keep an eye on their children. But are such tracking devices protective or intrusive upon the child's privacy?

Clearly, we live in troubled times. The murder of 7-year-old Pradyuman Thakur in a leading school in Gurgaon and the rape of a 5-year-old in a school in Delhi are reminders that amidst us are sick, depraved individuals who prey on our children. Today, its frightening to be a parent, in not knowing whether its safe to be sending your child to school. Who is responsible for protecting our kids? Is it just the school administration? What about the government, the police, even parents? We discuss, on The Buck Stops Here.

Take a look at the desperate state of our national capital engulfed as it is by trash. Just a few days back lives were lost after the monstrous Ghazipur dump collapsed. It is more than 50 metres high, it is not supposed to be more than 20 metres high; and with no other dump easily available, Delhi stares at a disaster in the making. Why now, in 2017, are we finally waking up to this ridiculous situation? Who is responsible and is there a real solution? We debate on The Buck Stops Here.

A 17-year-old girl from a poor family who dreamt of becoming a doctor decided to end her life, leaving her family, friends and students across the country in shock. Who let Anitha down? What drove this bright girl -- who fought against the odds and had big ambitions -- to suicide? She scored an impressive 1,176 out of 1,200 marks in Class 12 board examinations, but couldn't qualify for a medical college seat after she got 86 out of 700 in the now-compulsory National Eligibility cum Entrance Test, also known as NEET. Many say she was let down by the "system" that seems to favour the better off. How can India prevent more Anithas? We debate on The Buck Stops Here.

It has been a spectacular collapse of Mumbai as it was hit with rain nine times more than the normal rainfall in the last nine hours. People have been advised to stay indoors as waterlogging cripples the city. The high tide made a bad situation worse and the National Disaster Response Force was called in. It has brought back memories of the rain in 2005 when Mumbai was devastated by floods. Was this just way too much rain for any city to cope with? Or have the BMC's tall claims been busted?

Curfew-like restrictions have been imposed in Chandigarh, Panchkula and Sirsa, a day ahead of the crucial judgement against Dera Sacha Sauda sect chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh by a special CBI court in Panchkula. Prohibitory orders under Section 144 have been imposed in sensitive districts of Punjab and Haryana. The educational institutions are shut for the next two days. The Dera chief was charged with rape of two female devotees. Ram Rahim has denied these charges. The Centre is closely monitoring the situation.

Lieutenant Colonel Purohit walks free after getting bail in a terror case. He also gets an army escort. Should he get such treatment by the army when he is still an undertrial, that too in a terror case?

As many as 930 people have died of swine flu this year. There are more swine flu cases in 2017 so far than all of last year. And what about dengue? 18,700 cases of dengue have been reported across India in 2017. As the centre pushes for awareness campaigns in a nation that is battling swine flu, dengue and chikungunya, we ask what is behind these deaths: is it just killer viruses or is it also civic apathy?

As Supreme Court bans triple talaq, on The Buck Stops Here, we speak to three of the petitioners who had moved the Supreme Court against the controversial Islamic practice. 36-year-old Shayara Bano was given triple talaq via speedpost, Ishrat Jahan from Bengal was divorced by her husband over the phone, and Aafreen Rehman also got a letter via speedpost from her husband announcing a divorce. On the show, the brave women and their fight for gender justice.

Nine years after seven people died in the communally-sensitive textile town of Malegaon in Maharashtra, key accused Lt Col Prasad Purohit was granted bail by the Supreme Court. The top court flagged the delay in the start of trial and the glaring contradictions between the chargesheets of the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), which initially investigated the case, and the National Investigation Agency which took over later. While the country's top counter-terror agency, the NIA, had opposed bail for Lt Col Purohit saying there was proof that he had made and supplied the bomb used, the Congress has launched an all out attack against the investigating agency, accusing the government of "protecting all RSS-connected accused".

On The Buck Stops Here, meet the six women crew of the Indian Navy who are all set to sail around the world. This will be India's first attempt to circumnavigate the globe by an all-women crew. The six Indian Navy officers will begin their historic voyage later this month from Goa and will stop only at four ports before returning in March 2018.

On The Buck Stops Here, the shock and outrage of home owners, of the hard-working citizens who have sunk their life savings into buying their dream home but have never received it because of the builder is bankrupt. Then there are cases where builders, desperate to fob off their incomplete construction, hand it over to desperate buyers who have no choice but to receive it because otherwise they will end up paying even more. On the show, families who wanted their own home but continue to suffer, a handful of builders, and lawyers to tell us if there is anything that can realistically be done.

A landmark new report has found that diesel SUVs on Indian roads are emitting 25 to 65 times as much noxious nitrogen oxide as a small petrol car. These shocking results come from actual on-road testing of Indian cars by two reputed environmental non-profits. A study published earlier this year in Nature magazine estimated that excess nitrogen oxide emissions were linked to 38,000 premature deaths worldwide in 2015 mostly in the EU, China, and India. We ask: is it now imperative to say no to diesel cars?

As India turns 70, on The Buck Stops Here, we speak to author Amish Tripathi on what makes India an immortal civilisation and the problems that still face the country.

As India turns 70, on The Buck Stops Here, we speak to the co-founder of Infosys, NR Narayana Murthy, on how India has changed over the years and the role of digitisation on the road ahead.

As India turns 70, on The Buck Stops Here, we speak to chairman of Godrej Group Adi Godrej on how India has changed over the years and where does he see India in decades ahead.

As lakhs of Marathas congregate in South Mumbai demanding reservations, we look at this demand. Does it fuel a genuine aspiration based on the economic vulnerability of the community or is it a political quagmire for the party in power, given the political strength of the Marathas?

From Chandigarh to Fatehabad, we discuss how those in power seem to trample upon the laws with impunity and get away. From Vikas Barala, the Haryana BJP chief's son, who stalked and even attempted to kidnap Varnika Kundu, an IAS officer's daughter, walking away hours after the more serious charge of kidnapping against him were dropped to Darshan Nagpal, a BJP councilor in Fatehabad, who held up an ambulance after it hit his car; the delay leading to the death of the patient in that ambulance. Isn't it time to hold our leaders to account?

Officers of the Indian Army, Air Force and Navy posted at peace stations will no longer get a promised perk - free, daily rations. In fact, the daily bread, butter, milk, cornflakes and more have disappeared since July 1. They will instead get a daily allowance of 96 rupees and three paise. The 7th Pay Commission has stipulated this but the move has outraged officers. The counter-argument is that this is no great loss, since officers never relied on these rations to feed their entire family.

Hear an Army Major try and convince the Lashkar-e-Taiba's Kashmir Chief Abu Dujana to surrender. He tells the officer 'Mubarak, you have won.' This is before he was killed in an encounter. We speak to the Officer Commanding the operation to eliminate Abu Dujana.

11 crores and counting. It's been several hours since Income Tax raids began against one of Karnataka's most powerful Congress ministers, DK Shivakumar, in 39 locations across Delhi and Karnataka. Pictures have been released of the cash found, but there's a huge political row over the timing. IT officials say it was part of an ongoing investigation and the raids were planned well in advance. But the Congress is not convinced. Mr Shivakumar had been given charge of Congress MLAs from Gujarat who had been sent to Karnataka for safekeeping ahead of Rajya Sabha voting. Is this a proxy war between Amit Shah and Ahmed Patel for a Rajya Sabha seat that is playing out across the country?

After a 14-year-old jumped off a terrace in Mumbai, the police is investigating whether the teenager had been inspired by a deadly online game, called the 'Blue Whale' suicide challenge. The 'Blue Whale' challenge reportedly targets those who are depressed and turns self-harm and suicide into a thrilling game. The teenager had reportedly mentioned it to his friends and said he would no longer be coming to school. As internet addiction and the murky world of online gaming become a real concern for adolescents, how do we identify the danger signs? Is a ban on these games a solution?

Reacting to Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's comments that no one will be able to take on PM Narendra Modi in 2019, Congress lawmaker Shashi Tharoor says Mr Kumar joining the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) was surprising because his campaign was very anti-BJP. He adds that by joining the NDA, Mr Kumar gave up on a very promising future and voters won't forgive him.

Over a hundred armed forces veterans have written an open letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Ministers and Lt Governors against mob violence and what they call an atmosphere of fear and intimidation in the country. They say they stand with the 'Not In My Name' campaign that mobilised thousands of citizens. Will this strong message make a difference?